Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended.
Note: By request for Leauge of Shadows.
Care For You
Zarabotal
Saint Petersburg, Russia
Midnight
The exclusive Earned Gentlemen's Club was one of the most famous unknown locations in the world. It was popular for its reputation of wealth, prestige and decadence. Most of the world's rich and famous passed through its hidden doors at some point and time, and all of them left fully satisfied and delighted.
Situated toward the rear of the establishment was a lavish and elegant dressing room. This evening, it was occupied by seven women, hastily preparing for their upcoming performance. Most of the ladies were seasoned performers, but tonight, there was a particular imposter in their midst.
The world class Russian super spy Natasha "The Black Widow" Romanoff had never actually found any true joy for herself during any of her various missions, but she supposed that on this night, there was a first time for everything. Perhaps this God that Steve had told her about really had a sense of humor in her life. With all the activity rushing around her, she paused and gazed at her reflection in the huge wall sized mirror in front of her, thinking of the recent events which had led to this moment.
A few weeks ago, Steve had sent her a message asking for her help in reconnoitering undercover missions. As leader of The Avengers and being in charge of global security, he said that he needed to have a better understanding of the field work of the agents under his command. Even though her being an Avenger and her exposure along with Hydra had effectively ended her undercover career, Natasha had agreed that she was still the best to instruct him.
The two of them had been inseparable ever since.
They had been doing a good deal of traveling since they had settled into this new partnership. Natasha had taken Steve around to act as a handler on a few of the in progress covert operations she was aware of, and she marveled at how his presence immediately lifted the spirits of all of the agents he encountered. After meeting with The Captain himself, all of the agents returned to their assignments with renewed vigor.
Over the years, Natasha had slowly come to accept the fact that there was an attraction between herself and Rogers. She was still a woman, and like every other red blooded woman on the planet, she felt a desire for Steven Grant Rogers. It had taken a long time for her to stop lying to herself about that.
As time passed, she had decided that it was certainly best to limit their personal time together. It was simply the only sure way to maintain the necessary distance between them. When they had started traveling together a few weeks ago, she had inadvertently made the mistake of spending more time with him than she had intended.
Three nights ago, she had crossed the line.
On that night, after waking from one of the worst memory dreams she had ever experienced, Natasha had slowly made her way through the connecting door of their dual hotel rooms. Catching him unawares in the lonely dim hours of the morning, Natasha had made love to Steve. He had been willing and receptive, and had given her far more than the comfort she had desperately needed that night. She had never before reached out to anyone like that, and Steve was the only person in the world she had ever trusted enough to do so.
Slipping out of his bed before dawn, neither of them had spoken of it for the past two days, and the unspoken desire and sexual tension hung heavy in the air between them. Natasha was still very unsure of what she was feeling, particularly because it was so much stronger than anything she had ever felt in her entire life, but she had finally made up her mind that she wanted to explore it.
This mission they were on now could provide something of an ice breaker for them, and she intended to use it.
This was going to be his first experience actually in the field himself, practicing the art of impersonation. The Black Widow was familiar with this particular club, as she had used its covert trafficking to smuggle defectors out of the country on several occasions. It was basically a safe zone, and a good place to carry out her personal plans for this evening.
Her reflection was flawless in the mirror. Six other women, all more stunningly beautiful than most world famous supermodels, moved to and fro around her, fixing their hair and makeup, adjusting their outfits and dresses, and some just simply posing to admire their own physiques. The Black Widow hardly took notice of them. Throughout her lifetime, she had prepared for many impersonations, deceived some of the best counteragents in the world, and tricked various men of vaunted intelligence.
However, for her, this night was different. It felt like an entirely alternate world for her. Tonight, she wanted to be beautiful. Tonight, she wanted to be admired. Tonight, she wanted… to feel Steve.
The ringing of a short bell resounded in the spacious dressing room, and all the ladies began to fall into line. With a final glance in the mirror, Natasha took her place in the group. It was time for the performance.
In the spacious outer auditorium, a calm atmosphere of eager expectancy pervaded the room. Seven men were seated at various tables, positioned in a wide semi-circle facing a large stage on the south wall. It was obvious that the building had once been a grand theater, perhaps of some opulence many years ago.
The room was dimly lit to provide an atmosphere of mystery, sensuality and intrigue, and the air was filled with the tang of some of the most expensive cigars in the world. Three of the men had made their way over to the extensive bar on the side wall to drink and conversate as they awaited the grand performance. The other four men remained seated at their solitary tables, content to simply take in the ambiance of the nightclub.
Watching the entire crowd intently from the third table on the left side of the room, Steve "The Captain" Rogers kept a calm demeanor as he carefully surveyed the situation. Clad in a set of gold square thin rimmed glasses with a black tilted brim hat casting a shadow over his face, he was fairly certain that his cover was intact. Along with the facial distortion augmenting his features, he was able to relax a little over the concern that someone might recognize him. He wanted to become better in all facets of his job, and in this world, part of that meant learning some undercover work.
He felt very glad to have Natasha with him in this. Her unparalleled skill was always invaluable in these matters. She had told him that there would be no danger here on this op, and that he could let his guard down a little for this evening. With that trademark smirk which he always found so captivating, she had told him to think of this as a vacation night out at a private resort. It had been a long time since he'd taken a vacation or indulged in any kind of real recreation, and he found himself immensely glad to have her company.
Truth be told, her company was not all that interested him in this moment. He was still reeling from the night of passion which had sparked between them three nights ago, and he hadn't yet figured out how to move forward with their situation. After all these years, he still didn't know a thing about women.
Just as this thought crossed his mind, the lights in the auditorium dimmed a little more slightly as the large red curtains of the stage began to draw open. The men seated at the bar quickly broke apart and excitedly hurried back to their individual tables. Immediately, smooth string chords resounded from hidden speakers as a high pitched voice suddenly flowed melodically though the room.
...
Bright lights suddenly flowed over the stage. Seven incredibly beautiful exotic women simultaneously began to walk out on the stage in a single file line, moving synchronously in step with one another.
...
There were chairs on the stage, one for each of the ladies, turned around and positioned equidistant apart. Except for the spike high heels which all of them wore, they seemed to be absolutely bare. The sight was strikingly eye catching. With practiced synchronicity, they all walked around their chairs, paused for effect, and then sat down on the seats facing the audience.
As soon as they landed on the chairs, small bursts of smoke shot up from the floor in front of them.
...
And suddenly, they were all clothed in sexy ornate lingerie. Their initial appearance had been an elaborate, expensive and well designed holographic imagery for audience effect to match the song. It had worked splendidly, as the ire of all the men had immediately skyrocketed at the sight of them.
Each of their costumes had a theme of the most influential countries in the world. The central dancer was dressed in a near royal garb uplifting the country of Russia, another of the ladies was clothed in a uniform to represent Israel, and one of them even had on a revealing likeness of the province of China.
Off to the left, seated in the stage chair positioned directly in front of Steve, sat Natasha Romanoff, decked out in a stylish United States of America outfit. In unison, the women stood, showing off their lovely costumes for the audience. All of them struck poses indicative of their representative nationales, somewhat mocking in a cute but not disrespectful way.
Natasha stood with a classic salute. She was wearing an ornate blue bra with thin connectors down to a pure white thong and red ankle strap high heeled pumps. She had known that her soldier would appreciate the color scheme she had chosen.
Steve didn't miss the perfect match of the performance and the lyrics of the song. Yet, as he listened to the words, his mind slipped into deeper thoughts than just those on the surface. He found himself thinking of the magic that this woman had come into his life, and the blessing she was to him.
...
Natasha had known exactly where Steve would be seated, and she had caught sight of him the instant she had walked out onto the stage. It had become difficult to deny the fact that just seeing him now elicited a heated response from deep within her. No one else in her life had ever affected her this way, and she wondered for a moment if perhaps The Black Widow, which was known for casting a spell upon others, had somehow fallen under the magic of another.
After a short pause, on the next beat of the song, all of the women began to form into a single file line and walk down a short staircase at the front center of the stage to make their way into the crowd of tables.
At the sight of her, every other person in the room ceased to exist for Steve, and all he saw was Natasha.
As she stepped down from the stage in her place in line, Natasha didn't even spare a single glance at any of the other men in the room, only making her way directly toward Steve.
In sync with the ladies stepping down from the stage, the lights all over the auditorium smoothly dimmed to being just barely visible. The low lights only allowed the figures in the room to be perceived as just shadows and forms, further adding to the alluring anonymity. The darkness provided a soothing comfort level for all the patrons.
As the women stepped beside the designated tables in front of them, thin small partitions rose smoothly from the floor, providing each space with its own closed off area. The makeshift booths allowed each couple to have a good measure of privacy with one another.
The lovely spy walked toward Steve with a strong, sure stride, her high heels clacking sexily across the floor.
...
There was no hesitation as Natasha leaned down and kissed Steve succulently on his lips. Her lips were soft, moist and wet, and she held both his cheeks in her hands as she momentarily devoured him.
Natasha had been longing to kiss him again for the past three days. Here, in this setting, she was in her element, and the confusion of trying to balance her personal real life was pushed away. In this moment, she found she could act on her true feelings under the guise of untruth, much as she had done that day on the escalator with him long ago.
For the soldier, every moment he was with this woman was making him more certain of his feelings for her. Contrary to what she thought, he well understood the dichotomy of the heroic symbol of virtue and truth being with the secretive representation of deception and lies. Yet, the simple and focused man he was had accepted the fact that the man within him was bonded to the woman within her. He had never been confused about this truth.
After this tantalizing moment, Natasha stood back up over him, and gazed down into his eyes with anticipation. In sync with her, Steve caught her message quickly. This was part of her performance, of course, and he deduced how he was to respond.
He wished that it wasn't just a dance to her.
...
At those words, Natasha turned away from him in shame.
Steve caught her hand.
In this role play, she was to be the sensual dancer and he was to be the desiring millionaire.
Despite the hidden desires of her heart, the dancer would try not to be with him. All her life, she had been used as nothing but a weapon. She had stolen, deceived and murdered. Every agency she had worked for had used her skills for their own ends, to the point that she herself had been unsure of whose lies she had been telling. Yet now, here she was, locked in an emotional tangle with a man that, instead of wanting just to use her, wanted to give to her. It was a kindness which the darkness in her heart found almost impossible to process.
Despite his sensibilities, the millionaire would try to draw her to him. The lonely spy assumed no one would ever truly understand her, but the two of them had more in common than she had ever realized. Although he had chosen the life of a soldier, the man Steve Rogers had lost everyone he had ever cared for. What was supposed to have been a simple tour of duty had turned into a centuries long life commitment, and even the best of men could feel used.
In this moment of their mixed identities, the dramatic irony was not lost on Steve.
Does art imitate life, or does life imitate art?
...
On the next line, Natasha surprised Steve, doing the unexpected. Not letting go of his hand, she smoothly spun around in time with the beat of the song, and sat her slim lithe body down firmly in his lap. Steve drew in a sharp breath, but he didn't miss a beat as his other hand came up to grasp hers, and his large arms were now fastened across the front of her body holding her back tightly against his chest.
Despite how much the soldier in him had always been accustomed to the simple notion of giving and following orders, Steve hadn't realized how much he had come to adore the way Natasha stretched his rigid rules. Although he knew they would always struggle to find a moral common ground for them, he loved the way she hadn't hesitated to kiss him as a cover before, much the same way she had just done here tonight.
Natasha couldn't deny the way her blood rushed faster through her veins whenever Steve responded to her. His demeanor was usually controlled and measured, and when he stepped outside himself to her, it was absolutely the most heady feeling she had ever experienced in her life. She loved when he would unexpectedly respond to her.
...
Gracefully raising her arms above her head, Natasha reached back and tangled her fingers in the hair at the nape of his neck, sliding along the bottom edges of his black brim hat. Well aware that her Captain had always had something of a fixation on her derriere, the spy used her feminine wiles to perfection. Feeling his evident arousal for her from the moment she had sat down in his lap, she began to sensually slide her hips up and down his length, quickly driving him to distraction. Leaning her head back, she began to kiss and suckle along his neck drawing him to the brink in record time. Catching him by surprise once again, he hadn't expected that she would go this far with him in her performance, and it heightened her impact on him.
"Natasha," Steve whispered, burying his face in her neck as he struggled to hold on.
...
Hearing his deep voice calling her name along with the words of the song, Natasha's heart relented. In a smooth motion, she ceased her pleasurable torture and sat forward. Steve immediately took advantage, as she knew he would, and he grabbed her hips in his strong hands to lift her up and turn her around in his arms. The acrobatic spy made a show of her motion, easily raising one leg straight up to allow the turn to be simple, swinging it high over his head before he brought her down.
With Natasha now seated in his lap facing him, Steve kissed her passionately.
...
It was too deep, too intense, too real. Without showing it, the spy subtly tried to draw away from his penetrating embrace, but the soldier held her closer to him. Wrapping his powerful arms firmly around her slim waist, his strength made Natasha fall more deeply into him, her arms now extending around his neck and allowing her to crush her lips against his own. Against her will, her legs athletically raised up behind her to place her ankles comfortably on his muscular thighs, causing her slight weight to fall forward and force her even more strongly against him.
Steve's mind was made up. He was going to care for Natasha, whether she wanted him to or not. He already did.
Natasha found herself kissing Steve back fervently. If she had been honest, instead of lying even to herself, she would have admitted that she had always known she could find herself caring for Steve. She already did.
After a moment which lasted far too long and was simultaneously much too short, the spy regained some semblance of herself and broke their kiss to use her practiced stealthy peripheral vision to survey the room. All of the other couples were busy getting well acquainted, although not quite as familiar as she and Steve. Some of the other girls were keeping a carefully watchful eye on them, and Natasha knew she needed to avail her partner of their situation. With a silken smoothness, she kept one hand behind his head to guide his lips onto her neck, while she leaned in and began to suckle on his. The angles she created kept their lips hidden from all prying eyes.
"This club is known for having an international date night," she whispered in his ear breathily.
"Date… night?" he murmured back, much more shaken by their seductive contact than herself, as he had to force the words out through his strained throat.
"The women are trying to get out of the country," she explained, her voice betraying the fact that she wasn't entirely immune to the effects of their intimate contact the longer she spoke. "It's like a dating site. The men come here, mingle with the women during these performances, and if they like one they take them away. I've used this place to smuggle lots of people out of the country. The couple get to choose each other."
"I… I think I've already made my choice," he whispered to her.
Leaning back to stare at him, Natasha's lips barely moved as she asked a one word question in the darkness.
"Why?"
The line of the song answered her.
...
The soldier's stern eyes softened. To him, even with all her flaws and imperfections, his heart told him that this woman was perfect for him. He would show her the truth.
Natasha saw the flicker in Steve's eyes on the line of the song. Something inside her wounded heart began to break. She was the epitome of imperfection, but just the idea that this man could think this of her this way opened a door inside which she had believed to be forever closed.
...
Placing his hands on her hips, Steve slowly lifted her up. Then, he leaned forward and kissed Natasha on her navel. She drew in a hot breath, and her heart started to pound inside her chest. When he slipped his tongue into her belly button, her knees suddenly felt weak, and she placed her hands on his strong shoulders to hold her up.
...
Steve kissed Natasha's scars. As soon as she realized what he was doing, an unfamiliar wetness welled in her eyes. Sensing her intense response to his ministrations, Steve leaned closer to kiss and suckle the jagged scar on her left hip. Even though she had applied flawless make up to her skin to cover every wound and scar, his brilliant mind retained the memory of every inch of her body from their single night together. Involuntarily, her slim fingers reached up to tangle in his golden hair, her heart calling out for the unbridled affection he was bestowing upon her.
Their moment was interrupted by the angered grunt of the Asian woman representing China at the table nearest them.
The spy immediately slipped back into character, and snatched his head back away from her skin with a sexy daring gaze. Then, she spun smoothly around his chair so that she was leaning down onto him from behind as she slid her hands seductively down his broad chest.
...
Suddenly, Steve's hands grabbed her hands to stop her from going lower on him.
"Let's get out of here," he whispered meaningfully to her.
...
Opening his heart, Steve turned to allow his cerulean blue gaze to bore into Natasha's crystal green depths. She held his stare. Somehow, he saw past all her wrongs, evils and deceptions, to look directly into the shattered heart of the woman now trying to do what was right in life, this soul seeking redemption and forgiveness. She would never be worthy, but she could accept forgiveness.
The spy found herself unable to move. The soldier moved for her.
Standing quickly, Steve took hold of Natasha's hand to pull her toward the rear exit door of the auditorium. She fell in step with him, and they were nearing the outer door of the lounge in seconds.
Outside, the sprinkle of rain from earlier in the evening had become a downpour. The falling shower left traces against the glass of the door which almost seemed to shine as little lights as the street lamps reflected off of them. Steve paused and looked down at Natasha.
She stared up into his eyes, and a sadness fell over her heart.
...
This would never work between them. The world would never accept The Prince of Truth being with The Princess of Lies. No matter how good things could be between them, their relationship would surely only end in tragedy.
...
This wouldn't be love. It couldn't be. Love was for children. If she told herself that lie enough times, maybe she would make herself start to believe it.
...
Steve shook his long black trench coat off and smoothly slipped it around Natasha's shoulders to completely cover her sexy America outfit. They continued gazing into one another's eyes, the deeper meaning of this gesture piercing both their hearts. He didn't want the fake dancer. He wanted the real woman. He didn't want any lies between them.
...
Wrapping his large powerfully muscular arm around her shoulders, Steve led the two of them out into the night. The spy knew that he knew it was completely unnecessary for him to be so protective of her like this, as the soldier had seen her fight an entire invading army alongside him. She wouldn't even have tolerated this from any other man, but with Steve, the woman inside the warrior couldn't help but to find it endearing nonetheless. She allowed herself to lean closer into him and he held her tighter.
In a few quick steps, the couple had crossed the deserted street and made their way into the empty lobby of the hotel in which Steve had rented a lavishly furnished room under his cover identity on the third floor. They stayed close even once they were out of the rain. Reaching his room, Steve held the door open as Natasha stepped past him and slipped into a sexy stride toward his bedroom.
Steve paused as he stared after her, wanting her to know that she could still choose whatever she wanted for them tonight. Natasha gave him a sexy smirk over her shoulder, then she slowly let his trench coat slip off her shoulders, down her back, and finally to the floor behind her heels. He started to follow her.
...
Natasha walked over to the side of the bed and turned to face Steve as he stepped into the room. In this moment, both of them were laid bare and open. An empty air of loneliness hung heavy over both their lives, and only being together could alleviate it.
...
With a strength of heart, Steve pulled Natasha into his arms. She quickly turned her head and began to kiss and suckle his neck hungrily, trying to avoid the pull of deep intimacy she felt from his lips. The spy wanted to give herself to him, she desperately wanted to be with him, but she couldn't bring herself to open up to him. She tried to tell herself that … this wouldn't be love. Undaunted by her resistance, Steve wrapped one arm around her waist and lifted her into the air while his other hand tangled in her hair to angle her face toward him.
As Steve laid Natasha down the soft bed underneath him, he simultaneously kissed her lips deeply, smoothly slipping past her hesitation and drawing her into him. Unable to fight the man of her heart and the emerging feelings from within, Natasha finally found the strength to open herself. Kissing him back fervently, she wrapped her slim legs around his wide waist and pulled him down fully onto her. Moments later, the two of them had shed their clothes and become one together. In this intimate moment, they started to fully accept the love between them for the first time.
...
After hours of being connected so deeply that neither of them could tell where one ended and the other began, the mutual fulfillment they experienced flowed over them in an earth shattering heated rush.
...
With the dim light of the glowing moon filtering into the bedroom through the windows, Steve and Natasha lay wrapped in one another's arms in the quiet blissful afterglow of their beautiful lovemaking. Strangely, there was not a single sound of the city surrounding them making its way into the room, and an incredibly peaceful silent solace pervaded the small bedroom.
Wrapped in their physical, emotional and mental closeness, both the soldier and the spy were pondering similar thoughts. It was obvious that they seemed to belong together, and the only thing keeping them apart was the world around them. If there was only the two of them, there would be no reason for them to be apart.
...
Neither of them had the strength to fight against this anymore. They had been convinced. Both of them had been broken inside.
The truth between them was evident.
They were in love. They had been for a long time. They simply had never embraced it.
Caressing one another gently, Steve and Natasha kissed tenderly, both understanding that for them, this was a new beginning…
...
The End.